09/06/2025
📍Lo sapevi?
🇬🇧 The Secret Passage Behind the Courthouse
Walking along Via Fontana, at number 16, between the courthouse and Piazza Cinque Giornate, you’ll encounter what appears to be a normal doorway. Few people know that a secret passage begins through this entrance.
Following it, you’ll pass through the inner courtyard of several buildings and emerge onto Corso di Porta Vittoria (in front of the Chamber of Labour). It has certainly existed since the early 19th century and holds a mysterious curiosity: it has never had a name.
This is because, even though it seemingly looks like the inner courtyard of these buildings, it is actually a public passage. Historical maps reveal that in 1814, a canal flowed through the center of Corso di Porta Vittoria, there were very few houses, and numerous vegetable gardens. Those few houses, at the time on the outskirts of the city, were already cut through by this narrow passage. Today, none of those buildings have survived, but this little street is still there, despite the district’s reconstruction in the 20th century.
The secrets aren’t over... In this secret alley, there’s one of the smallest art galleries in the world (only 7 sq m).
